The new HFP chat thread – Tuesday 18th August

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We have decided to run this new daily chat thread on Head for Points.

Historically, the daily ‘Bits’ articles were the de facto repository for random comments and questions. It is unlikely that the news flow will be so big over the next few weeks that we will need many ‘Bits’ articles, however.

The comments under this article are where you should post questions about travel and, indeed, anything else on your mind. At this tricky time, and given that many of you are stuck at home self-isolating, we want the HFP community to have a place to chat.

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Category

General

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

AJA says:

18 Aug18 August 12:28

Anybody have any dealings with Saga holidays? My mum had her upcoming trip in September cancelled and she thought she’d just rebooked it for next year. Then on Friday she had a phone message asking for a deposit. Been trying to phone them but just in a perpetual queue.
Carol says:

18 Aug18 August 13:00

I emailed Curve to ensure that a large refund would be credited back to my Virgin card. However, it has gone to Curve cash. It is over £3400 – am I right in thinking that I can draw this out from the ATM in instalments rather than having to use it for purchases? My daily limit is £1000 so wouldn’t take too long.
I requested a refund from Singapore Airlines late on Friday and it arrived early this morning – am impressed with their efficiency.
- Dan says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 13:03
  
  Could use curve cash to directly fund Ernie account…
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    18 Aug18 August 13:16
    
    That would be the quickest way to get it.
- S879 says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 13:03
  
  Can you only withdraw Curve Credit via cash point? I have a refund sitting in my account too. Do I need to click on something to withdraw that refund?
- Mr. AC says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 13:26
  
  1. ATM withdrawals won’t work.
  2. Otherwise Curve cash is quite versatile. E.g. Revolut or Monese topup works fine.
  3. If you are willing to wait, Curve is planning to (eventually) allow you to “refund” any card with Curve cash.
  - Carol says:
    
    18 Aug18 August 13:42
    
    Thanks everyone for all the advice. Think I will look into moving it to Ernie. I was reassured that Curve would put it back on my card but I haven’t had a response to my emails yet
    - Carol says:
      
      18 Aug18 August 14:12
      
      Just purchased some Premium Bonds so problem solved regarding Curve cash 🙂
      - MarkH says:
        
        18 Aug18 August 20:52
        
        For anyone else in this situation you can pay Brighton with Curve cash with no fees or fronted
- meta says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 13:44
  
  Yes, Singapore Airlines are great. I rebooked my redemption ticket yesterday after 5 months having the ticket on hold. Answered straight away at 10:30am, agent knew exactly what to do. All done within 5 minutes. New tickets issued within 24 hours (flight is by the way end of April next year!) and I can select my seats now. Unlike with BA where any reticketing might never happen unless you call everyday and basically beg them to do it.
  - Carol says:
    
    18 Aug18 August 14:11
    
    That is great to hear – I am not sure when I can get annual leave next year otherwise I would have done as you did and rebook. Will definitely use them for my next trip to Australia though.
S879 says:

18 Aug18 August 13:02

If I cancel my BAPP, how soon can other half refer me for the BA Amex free card? I know I can call and downgrade but am thinking if the first route is possible I can avail it.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 15:38
  
  there isn’t any published gap, it’s as long as you want to give it.
Green Plastic says:

18 Aug18 August 13:18

Travelling on a work trip in Euro Traveller and trying to upgrade to Club Europe using my own money. Can’t do it on BA.com as it says I need to contact my booking agent. Is there a way to upgrade to CE at the airport?
- Stu N says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 13:29
  
  Yes – you can usually ask at the check-in desk. You may be offered an upgrade at check-in too.
  
  There’s a thread on Flyertalk with sample pricing for airport upgrades and proactive online upgrades. It’s usually about £60 for shortest routes (domestics, Dublin, Paris etc) upwards. You will get CE baggage, fast track/ lounge and higher tier points/ Avios for CE.
  - Green Plastic says:
    
    18 Aug18 August 21:48
    
    Thanks Stu!
r* says:

18 Aug18 August 13:35

Ive had the return flight of a ba 2 for 1 cancelled (out in club, rtn in first), if i ask ba to move the booking to next sept, does there need to be avios availability on the dates or would they move it to any date?

If i took a voucher, would that enable a rebooking without needing avios availability?
- memesweeper says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 16:43
  
  > if i ask ba to move the booking to next sept, does there need to be avios availability on the dates or would they move it to any date?
  
  I don’t think next Sept. is bookable yet. But if you ask to me moved to a date that *is* bookable, it’s your choice of date, provided there are any seats it’s doable (you may need to escalate to a manager or HUACA)
  
  > If i took a voucher, would that enable a rebooking without needing avios availability?
  
  I’ve not tried but I’d say with 99% certainty that’s a ‘no’. The voucher option for an Avios booking has no upsides versus a refund *unless* you are trying to extend the validity of a companion voucher.
Peter K says:

18 Aug18 August 13:39

Double value for Amex MR points used for statement credit on the Gold Business card from today until 18th November. I had an email about it today from Amex, tried it and it went through perfectly. So 0.9p per MR point.
Stu N says:

18 Aug18 August 14:03

BA redemptions/ cancellations. We have had a cancelation for flights using a 241 in November to MIA, flying First. I think I’ve seen reports of people rebooking months ahead even if there is no redemption availability. Has anyone got any experience of this? Was it a battle or relatively simple?
- Matthew says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 14:22
  
  I was booked with BA (companion voucher) in Aug to TYO. BA cancelled and now transferred date to Jan 2021 which had no Avios availability. It simply has to be a date within a year of your initial booking as ticket valid for max one year. The peak/off peak didn’t matter for me but some have insisted on you having a new off peak for example if you booked off peak originally.
  - Stu N says:
    
    18 Aug18 August 15:31
    
    Was it a year from the travel date or a year from date of booking?
    - Matthew says:
      
      18 Aug18 August 16:47
      
      Within year of booking date. That’s when the e-ticket is issued. So I booked in Feb 2020 to travel Aug 2020 but got cancelled and amended to Jan 2021. I can’t amend beyond Feb 2021 as that’s max year from booking. Hence people who booked at T-355 have limited options!
      - Stu N says:
        
        18 Aug18 August 18:04
        
        Thanks – we might be better off just making a new booking, there’s loads of award availability to US in Spring 2020.
      - Stu N says:
        
        18 Aug18 August 18:07
        
        …except, for whatever reason, ours hasn’t been ticketed….I sense a long call to YouFirst in the pipeline…
Colin JE says:

18 Aug18 August 14:05

I got my status match email from TAP Miles&Go today, but I noticed they are now asking for me to buy 4000 miles or join one of the Miles&Go Clubs. I wonder if they’ve decided that the 2000 mile requirement as per HfP original article was just too cheap. But 4000 miles is 140 euros! The basic club is 99 euros per year and comes with 14,000 miles, so it seems much better value. I’ll just have to remember to cancel membership before the year is up.
One thing I’ve realised is that BA Exec Club and website seems downright simple compared with the intricacies of TAP Miles&Go!
- AJA says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 16:36
  
  Hi Colin there was a reminder article yesterday about this. The original article was wrong about the 2000 miles. It should have been 4000 miles. As you say paying €99 to join in return for 14000 miles is a far better deal.
  - Colin JE says:
    
    18 Aug18 August 21:01
    
    Thanks AJA
    Appreciate that news. I missed the article yesterday.